Gaza Genocide28 September, 20263 min read
Macron Presses Gaza At UNGA As Israel Accelerates Illegal Settlements And US-Israel War On Iran
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UNGA 81 centered on Israel-Palestine conflict and US-Israel war on Iran. AI, climate, and other global issues dominated discourse alongside Gaza agenda.
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UNGA debate centers Gaza
The 81st United Nations General Assembly concluded on Monday with artificial intelligence, the Israel-Palestine conflict and the US-Israel war on Iran dominating world leaders’ addresses during the general debate. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the future of the world would be shaped by four tests: AI, climate change, wars and inequality, and he said, "Across all four tests, the decisive issue is power." France’s President Emmanuel Macron pressed the UNGA on Gaza, telling delegates, "What credibility do we have if we continue to remain inactive in the face of Gaza," and he added, "Some boast of a supposed peace, but this peace hasn’t reopened humanitarian routes for a single second."
The UNGA debate also featured a meeting at the UNGA on Palestinian statehood chaired by Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Canadian counterpart Mark Carney and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, as Israel’s government accelerated construction of illegal settlements and provided impunity to settlers in the occupied territory. The US-led Board of Peace unveiled a 66-project reconstruction blueprint with proposed funding of $2.4bn for the Gaza Strip on the sidelines of the UNGA, while the plan excluded UNRWA, a decision Palestinian political analyst and playwright Ahmed Najar described as aligned with efforts to "marginalise and ultimately dismantle the agency".
Guterres calls for trust
The 81st session of the General Assembly took place under the theme « Restoring trust, reigniting global solidarity: A United Nations that delivers for all, » as António Guterres’s final high-level week as head of the Secretariat ended with his term ending on 31 December. General Assembly President Khalilur Rahman said leaders had confronted a world of conflict, stalled development, deepening inequality and rapidly accelerating technological change, and he framed the UN’s purpose around peace as an urgent defence of the UN Charter, international law and the protection of civilians. President Rahman warned that trust could not be commanded and said, "Trust cannot be commanded," adding, "It must be earned through consistency between words and deeds."
President Rahman also said AI’s extraordinary ascent had changed the diplomatic conversation, noting that this year, 128 delegations raised artificial intelligence in the Assembly Hall. The UN News Takeaway Day 6 also said the General Assembly would appoint the next UN Secretary-General following a recommendation from the Security Council, with the next Secretary-General to succeed António Guterres on 1 January 2027.
Diplomacy without Gaza breakthrough
The high-level week of the 81st session in New York did not bring about a breakthrough in major international conflicts, but it provided indications about the direction of future negotiations, with Gaza and the wider Middle East listed among the major flashpoints. UkrMedia News described the diplomatic week as producing no agreement on a limited ceasefire framework for Ukraine’s energy sector and food exports, and it said Reuters described negotiations as progressing cautiously rather than a ceasefire having been agreed. UkrMedia News also said the US and Iran resumed indirect contacts on the sidelines of the General Assembly, with Iran’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi and American representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner exchanging messages via intermediaries.
UkrMedia News reported that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on states to establish Common risk control mechanisms in cutting-edge AI systems, and it said he proposed moving towards a multilateral system for managing AI risks with independent oversight. UkrMedia News concluded that despite the resumed channel of negotiations, there was no new peace agreement or a new ceasefire, and it added that there is no consensus on AI’s governance.